Content Craftsmen client, Mom’s Design Build, once again won a national Contractor of the Year (CotY) Award from the National Association of the Remodeling Industry. The 2019 honor was in the Residential Landscape/Outdoor Living under $60,000 category. It featured a Wayzata project by Senior Designer Heather Sweeney. She accepted the award Friday evening at the Association’s annual Evening of Excellence event in San Diego, California.

This home actually is a main house and carriage house that were joined along the bend of a road near the Wayzata Yacht Club. The owners needed a landscape that would shield them from headlights, reclaim part of the front yard for themselves, and bring clarity to the main entrance. Creating the charming country landscape the owners desired required removing an ailing stand of cedars and planting a garden in the now sunny front yard. Features include a classic arbor and gates, clay paver and bluestone paths, and an abundance of easy care flowers and shrubs. The owner says it is her peaceful, tranquil place.

If you operate a remodeling business, reputation management should be a big deal. And it’s not just about building nice projects and collecting positive online reviews. Internet savvy prospects will scrutinize you and your business from multiple angles before they consider hiring you.

Granted, some things that shape your company’s image are largely outside of your control. For instance, if you don’t respond to an Angie’s List inquiry fast enough, the unhappy homeowner might flame you online.  Ask nicely and Angie’s will remove F grades for price and quality if the person didn’t actually hire you. But they won’t take down the other F grades that drag down your star scores. 

Remodelers can build images

Make it easy for every happy client to post at least one positive review so the five-star favorables outweigh the occasional, almost unavoidable shamers. That’s a key service Content Craftsmen provides its clients.

Also build your business appeal by being careful not to unnecessarily sabotage your professional image in your personal life.  One can argue that people should only care about how a person does business, but again it’s totally outside of your control how people form their opinions and decide where to spend their money.  

Assume that some people will Google your name and your company name and your key management team (try it yourself). Whether they spot something they don’t like on your official website or a personal Facebook page or Twitter feed makes little difference. 

Free Speech Comes with a Price

As a career journalist, I’m all for free speech and being true to one’s beliefs. Just understand that about half the people who buy remodeling services might differ with your most passionate positions. That goes for views on political parties, the courts, Congress, the President, Russia, the environment, the wall, immigration, religion, foreign policy, equal rights and social justice.  The worst part is that you will never know how much business you miss. You won’t get calls from some on the other side or have any idea what they share with family and friends.

I’m not suggesting people will hire incompetent remodelers just because they share their views. But if it is close, they may favor the person who is most like them on politics, religion, ethnicity, hobbies, age and personality.

3 Tactics to Guard your Reputation

If you are okay with selling only to people who think and act like you, go ahead and post whatever you want online and make everything public.  Then accept the positive and negative consequences. However, if your business growth strategy is built on appealing to a broader audience, you have three options:

• Make your social media posts private so only approved contacts see them, not strangers and prospective clients.
• Remove any references to your company on your personal profiles to create some professional separation.
• Remove polarizing posts from your personal social media platforms and avoid sharing those views in business settings.

Content Craftsmen’s goal is to help clients avoid pitfalls, grow their businesses and operate efficiently so they can enjoy life. The simplest advice is to keep it positive. And on that note, meet our first grandchild, Liam. The only negative is that he lives 1,300 miles away. Can’t wait to see him next month. He’ll be eight months.

The National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) named 2017 National Contractors of the Year (CotY) in 37 categories at its annual Evening of Excellence on April 7.  Shakopee-based, Mom’s Design Build (formerly Mom’s Landscaping & Design) earned three national titles at the Scottsdale event. That makes Mom’s the winningest design-build landscaping and remodeling contractor not only in Minnesota but throughout the United States. The same three Mom’s projects received NARI North Central Regional CotY honors earlier this year.  Four Mom’s projects won Minnesota CotYs last year and one scored a national title. Some 172 regional CotY finalists vied for the 37 national trophies.

A total of five Minnesota companies received national awards across seven project type/value categories this year.  Minnesota tied with Texas for the most awards from the 172 projects that were entered. The judges evaluated projects based on identifying and meeting clients’ needs, functional and aesthetic enhancements, innovation, craftsmanship and degree of difficulty. Content Craftsmen helped Mom’s and Anchor Builders with their winning presentations.

 Minnesota’s 2017 National CotY Winners

Residential Exterior $100,000 to $200,000

Mom’s Landscaping & Design LLC

Shakopee, Minnesota

 

Landscape Design/Outdoor Living Under $60,000

Mom’s Landscaping & Design LLC

Shakopee, Minnesota

 

Landscape Design/ Outdoor Living $60,000 and Over

Mom’s Landscaping & Design LLC

Shakopee, Minnesota

 

Entire House $250,000 to $500,000

Anchor Builders

St Louis Park, Minnesota

 

Residential Interior Element under $30,000

Pure Design Environments

Eden Prairie, Minnesota

 

Residential Addition $100,000 to $250,000

Mantis Design & Build, LLC

Minneapolis, Minnesota

 

Residential Historical Renovation/

Restoration Under $250,000

White Crane Construction, LLC

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Content Craftsmen often interviews  clients’ customers and helps  them share their remodeling experiences via video. Minimal special effects.  Authenticity is our goal. Here are some examples.

 

Ten Minnesota remodeling and landscape design contractors are up for 16 National Contractor of the Year (CotY) Awards Friday from the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) after winning North Central regional competitions earlier this year. Winners will be announced at the 2016 NARI Evening of Excellence gala in Austin, TX, on Friday evening. You can register online to watch the 2016 National CotY Awards program live. The webcast will be broadcast from  5:30-7:30 PM. It’s free.

Pure Design is up for national honors in four categories, Mom’s Landscaping & Design in three, and Bluestem Construction in two. Competing in single categories are Tomco Company, Murphy Bros. Design Build, Vujovich Design Build, Sylvestre Construction, AMEK Custom Builders and John Kraemer & Sons. Content Craftsmen helped to prepare entries for 5 of the 16 of the regional award winners vying for national honors: Mom’s, Tomco and Murphy Bros.

NARI-MN Projects by 2016 CotY Category

These are the Minnesota projects competing for national Contractor of the Year awards this week.  To see photos of their projects and the competition’s, click here.

Landscape Design & Outdoor Living >$60K

Mom’s Landscaping vs. projects from NY, VA, TX, CA

Landscape Design & Outdoor Living <$60K

Mom’s Landscaping vs. a project from TX

Residential Detached Structure

Mom’s Landscaping vs. projects from PA, MA, VA, TX

Residential Interior Element >$30K

Tomco Company vs. projects from MI, CA

Residential Basements $50-100K

Murphy Bros. vs. projects from PA, GA

Residential Interior Element <$30K

Pure Design vs. projects from VA, OH, OR, CA

Residential Interior $75-100K

Pure Design vs. projects from GA, OH, TX, CA

Residential Bath <$25K

Pure Design vs. projects from NE, TX, CA

Residential Kitchen $60-100K

Pure Design vs. projects from NY, NE, OH, TX, OR, CA

Entire House $250-500K

Bluestem Construction vs. projects from OH, TX, CA

Residential Kitchen $100-150K

Bluestem Construction vs. projects from OH, TX, OR, CA

Residential Addition >$250K

Vujovich Design Build vs. projects from GA, WI

Residential Exterior $100-200K

AMEK Custom Builders vs. projects from OH, TX, CA

Residential Historical Renovation >$250K

John Kraemer & Sons vs. a project from MD

Residential Bath $75-100K

Silvestre Construction vs. projects from TX, OR, CA

Residential Kitchen $30K

DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen vs. projects from OH, TX